Headquarters location: Country

Headquarters location: City

Location(s) of impact

Website

WWW.MILKLANE.IN

Problem: What problem is this initiative trying to address?

India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of milk but with a huge shortage of high quality milk for consumers. Current market size is US$ 80 bn and expected to grow at 13-15% p.a. to US$150 bn by 2020. The growing Indian middle class is driving the consumption of high quality milk as their disposable income and their demand for convenience increases. However, the supply chain is fragmented, underdeveloped and insufficiently managed. Urban migration due to lack of employment is also happening.

Solution Summary: What is the proposed solution? What do you see as its most promising aspects for creating shared value?

Milklane's unique rural entrepreneurship model using the constructs of Bulkmilk Cooler Operators (BMCs) and Small Industrial Production Unit (SIPU) farmers will transform the livelihoods of rural communities. It will enable creation of high quality milk free of antibiotics and aflotoxin by building capacities of pourers through services like high quality feed supply, advisory on cattle health, breeding and artificial insemination, financial and technical inputs backed by a strong technology platform. The model will enable pourers to improve their incomes, improved knowledge and increase herd size to become small entrepreneurs and create considerable rural jobs for BCOs, supporting staff of procurement, extension, veterinary, logistics, administration etc.

Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? Specify both the social and the environmental impact of your work

The social impact survey was conducted using lean data approach adopted from Acumen. A representative sample of 10% farmers were surveyed using voice calls with a simple questionnaire related to improved incomes, productivity, knowhow and their feedback on overall system. This enabled an interactive feedback loop that helps MilkLane management to strengthen the overall operations and impact evaluation.
The results are:
1. 59% farmers have expressed that they have observed improvement in income
2. 78% farmers have observed better price received for the milk supplied compared to competitors
3. 87% farmers agreed that they are satisfied with payment method and speed.
4. 31% farmers are trained on milk quality parameters.
5. 36% farmers received high quality cattle feed
6. 40% farmers observed improvement in milk quality
7. 12.5% farmers are facilitated with cattle loans
Farmers are now replacing plastic for steel cans to transport their milk. Other farmers are following suit.

Financial sustainability plan: How is this initiative financially supported? How will you ensure its financial sustainability long-term?

MilkLane is a for-profit enterprise promoted by Pioneering Ventures and funded via a combination of equity and debt. We organize grants for our farmers but have not accepted any grant money at this time. However, we will be leveraging and mobilizing resources for scaling our operations and are currently applying for grants to the government of Andhra Pradesh for setting up Bulk Milk Chilling Center in Chittoor. We expect to turn profitable in 2019 and will be funded via internal accruals thereafter, except for growth capital that we may raise to fund our expansion.

Unique value proposition: What makes your initiative innovative? How does your project differ from other organizations working in the same field?

1. Emphasis on milk quality: Extension activities with dairy producers to drive creation of aflatoxin and antibiotic free milk 'at source'. Right cattle feed mix to achieve 10-15% productivity gains.
2. Promoting rural entrepreneurship: Support BCOs to scale up operations with milk and cattle feed, support dairy producers to increase herd size & leverage production processes to scale to a small business.
3. Technology: Full transparency on quality/quantity metrics to producer.

Founding story: Share a story about the "Aha!" moment that sparked the beginning of this initiative.

Pioneering Ventures has pioneered the concept of quality training, extension services and SOP implementation with Indian farmers successfully in the banana sector. When asked by a large dairy company how to improve the quality of milk or team quickly realized that the same concepts of farmer interaction and training could also work in the dairy sector. This enabled our team to develop a unique, world-class extension system to collect high quality milk from even the smallest farmers and improve the quality of milk for consumers.